Saturday, January 14, 2006

Jazz & Indie "Movement" - Harvard Rocker

I came across the following post on the blog Harvard Rocker making reference to a supposed "movement" that fuses jazz and indie rock, a la the Bad Plus, some of Brad Mehldau's work, Kneebody and other groups of that sort. The post was apparently spurred on by an article in the New York Times about the subject.

I'm not going to deny that there are more jazz musicians today looking to rock as source material either as covers (Mehldau) or their production values (Bad Plus), but I don't really know if it qualifies as a movement just now. Brad's trio is about as mainstream as it gets, (I mean that in a good way, not as a pejorative), it's always jazz, just sometimes they're playing a Radiohead tune.

I think The Bad Plus might fit that concept of jazz-indie rock fusion a little better, since their sonic aesthetic seems to be as much from the rock world as the jazz world, though I'm not sure if one group a movement makes. Or even two for that matter.

Add that to the idea that this is nothing new (jazz and rock have a long history together, dating back to the mid 60's). Even at the height of the neo-classic jazz movement of the 80's and 90's there were guys like John Zorn who were doing the same sort of thing (though perhaps without the effective promotion that Sony has lavished on TBP.

If anything, I think this supposed movement is more about marketing than music. The marketing (see picture for exhibit 1) people are always looking for ways to market jazz to new younger listeners, and are always looking for the next big thing.

Thanks for checking out my music blog. You are the first person to have actually discussed anything I've written. How did you come across the blog? Do please post your comment on my website. Best,Harvard Rocker (aka Adam Scheuer)

About Me

Getting paid to listen to music, and play it for other people, isn't such a bad gig. While supervising 90.7 KFSR's jazz programs is only a very small part of my duties as Station Manager of 90.7 KFSR radio in Fresno, California, it's the part closest to my heart, and the subject of this blog. I also am on air a couple of days a week as part of our Morning Jazz program, playing a lot of the music I discuss here on this blog. 90.7 KFSR is the primary source for authentic jazz music in the Fresno area, ranging from Louis Armstrong to Brad Mehldau. 90.7 KFSR also broadcasts a wide variety of music and programs, from shows like A Prairie Home Companion to etown, to genres from to western swing to indie pop and beyond. You can listen on the web at kfsr.org. Our jazz programs air Mondays thru Fridays, midnight till 6:00pm, Pacific time.